Aging MDS prompt call for competency tests at AMA meeting

Should old doctors be forced to retire?

That question is the focus of a new report by an American Medical Association council that says doctors themselves should help decide when one of their own needs to stop working.

Unlike U.S. pilots, military personnel and a few other professions where mistakes can be deadly, doctors have no mandatory retirement age. All doctors must meet state licensing requirements, and some hospitals require age-based screening. But there are no national mandates or guidelines on how to make sure older physicians can still do their jobs safely.

It's time to change that, the report suggests, noting that the number of U.S. physicians aged 65 and older has quadrupled since 1975 and now numbers 240,000 - one-fourth of all U.S. doctors - although not all still see patients.

The report asks the AMA to spearhead a doctor-led effort to develop national guidelines and screening methods.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_AGING_DOCTORS

All generations owe it to the next to open up opportunities. Hanging on just because of longevity denies opportunity for those that follow.